Moving to Hai Phong

Hello Nadine.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you'll get some replies from other members.

Thank you,
Aurélie

Strange Peoples Committee, always have some hassle going on. Was the site of a land war where the PC wanted to take land back illegally and the thing landed up in the Prime Ministers office.

Big in shoe factories, too, along with agriculture, forestry and fishing. VietNam's third largest city.


The city was the first to be hit during bombing runs during the American War so much of the city has been rebuilt.

Greta intersection for roads to Ha Noi, Ha Long Bay and the coast road to Vinh. Has good bus connections as well as a rail service to Ha Noi.

Th cool season never goes much below 10C.

Wikipedia has a section on it: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hai_Phong >.

Hi Nadine,

I just sent msg to ur inbox, pls check

Best regards,
Miaa

6 cops shot, but none died in the land dispute the other member mentioned.

Same week the police were chasing a couple of gangsta's, when one of them turned around and shot one of the cops.  I think he died.

I have never heard anything good about the place.

- The Sopranos would be a popular TV show there, as well as the Godfather series.

- The schools there are ALWAYS looking for teachers, especially Apollo.

-  Supposedly, the fraud rate for American-Vietnamese marriages is the highest in the world in that region.  I've never seen anything confirming that, just hearsay.

On a positive note, I met a woman that came from there last year and she was a very nice and honest person.  I even threw caution into the wind and asked her to marry me...and got rejected.  I guess they're not all dishonest?

This guy blogged his experiences there, but has taken down a lot of what he wrote.  It wasn't his type of place, so he broke the contract and went back to America.  I think he made it 3 months, maybe more. 

Email him and ask what he thinks of his time there.

Thanks for the info I will be able to find out more sooner since it wont be very long until I arrive.

There it's cold and plenty of rain those weeks. So pack your wellingtons or you gonna wade with the plain foot in that, what runs out again of the drainage.

I was twice passing through, each time a few hours time to kill, nothing really much to look or see (at least, what I could gather). You will notice, loads of attention around you - because you are foreigner and have little useful conversation, as there are barely some foreigners and almost no tourists.

Hi Nadine87,

Me and my wife has just moved to Hai Phong also (in the middle of September) and even though I have been here several times before I cant say I really know the place that well. Well I know that Haiphong has kind of a bad reputation with gangsters (so called "bear heads") and Do Son is infamous for their prostitutes and gambling. However I have lived in HCMC and from what I have seen I met more gangsters, drug dealers and hockers in HCMC then I ever have seen here...

I have seen one or two westerners here in all my times in the city and as there is almost no tourists here usual "backpacker area" to my knowledge none existent. However I got a tip about to look at bars and restaurants around Dien Bien Phu and Minh Khai streets. Julias bar at 22 Minh Khai is supposedly a "X-pat bar" but I haven't visited it yet so I cant say if it is good or not. At that address a texas steakhouse is supposedly to be also.

I heard in a expat group on facebook that there has been attempts to organizing a expat society here in HP but it has been very bad influx so sometimes no one came. Also most ex-pats was according to them was Korean or Japanese and they kept them selves to their co-worker. I have no idea about the truth of that statement. So no expat community like in HCMC or Hanoi at the moment it seems...

If you want to look at movies you have a nice cinema at Parkson plaza (aka Thuy Doung plaza) on Le Hong Phong street, at the 6th floor I think, that has English movies with Vietnamese subs and ofte very little people (saw resident evil in 3d with just my wife and 3 friends) in the whole place.     

I nice supermarket you have in Big-C in the plaza right beside it and the area around this plazas seems to have a lot of simpler "restaurants" and cafés - I have just been to some and they were quite good. Along the Le Hong Phong you also have several other "Plazas".

The town is not as accessible as Hanoi, Hoian, Nha Trang or Ho Chi Minh City and alot fewer speak good English (like outer district in hcmc 10 years ago) and it is harder to get around I think (many small roads with tons of bicycles and on the big roads a lot of big trucks) then in the other cities I mentioned. However it is also a bit more adventure to get in and create a good living here I think This is also by far the city who has most restaurants that server "Thit Cho" or "Thit Meo" that I have seen - and as a guy that like to cuttle with my pets and not with my food I would say stay away from those places

Thats all I can come to think about right now If you want to keep exchange info about stuff in town feel free to send me a private message.

Good luck and maybe we run in to each other down town

Cheers

Thanks for the comment of Seigan. I enjoy to hear information about my hometown. When I was at school, I wonder what foreigner is thinking about this city while I am looking at a foreigner.
Haiphong is enough for me.

Well uga1881 I think a lot of foreigners that like to live the lifestyle many "longtime backpackers" and Expats do have in Hanoi, HCMC, HoiAn, NhaTrang etc might find this town a bit dull and maybe unfriendly. Me on the other hand who do not mind hanging out with only Vietnamese people who aren't home coming Viet-Q's, eating in the street corners and drink the local bia hoi find this town more fun just because it is a bit more challenging "get in to".

I find Hai Phong more genuine and people here do not think I'm a tourist all the time (as Hai Phong has close to no tourists). Here people speak Vietnamese to me or just show me where the stuff are - no: "Ohh sir sir! Special price for you my friend - come in and look at my shop" as in HoiAn and no "Buy-from-me-buy-from-me-buy-from-me" as in Sapa and no "Wanna buy opium?" as in HCMC Here it is more: "dep trai... Ooy anh biet tieng viet ha? goi lam! Anh nguoi odau? Anh lam gi?" (sorry for my bad spelling) and the conversation is on... I still get the "Tay ngo" price at the market though but thats just how it is

Hope that gives you some more info about who a foreigner, me, think about the city.

Cheers

This city I know little bit I pass some months 4 years ago... but I can see some is changing ...more cars inthe street and less bicycle...more bike obviously..Just I am curious if meet place are changed in the city and if somebody know where I can buy a mountanbike or bicycle...and a tenni racket...may be somebody know also where is possible make jogging or play some football?
Saludos